£3bn at stake for Scottish firms as resource management service gears up

An advice service has been set up to help Scottish organisations
and businesses save almost £3bn by reducing energy, water and raw
materials costs.

A consortium led by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) has been awarded the contract worth £3m a year, to run the Resource Efficient Scotland advice and support service.

It will be funded by the Scottish Government through Zero Waste Scotland and is the first time advice on energy, water, materials and waste can be accessed from a single service.

Zero Waste Scotland has estimated that Scottish organisations could save £2.9bn a year by taking simple steps to cut energy, water and raw material use, which amounts to approximately £7,000 for every organisation in Scotland.

Set to launch on April 1, the service will replace the Scottish Government business and public sector advice services currently delivered by Zero Waste Scotland. It will provide free support, training and access to funding to help organisations implement resource efficiency measures.

Resource Efficient Scotland will also commission research and development, fund commercialisation of innovative technologies and facilitate collective industry agreements.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: "Resource Efficient Scotland is an important new service which will make it easier for organisations in Scotland to get help which can save them money.

"Importantly, it is also another example of Scotland leading the way and listening to the needs of businesses, third sector and public sector organisations.

"By joining up support around these important environmental concerns we are also helping to make Scottish firms more competitive and ultimately help to grow the economy. The announcement of this contract is a significant step and I look forward to the new service being open to business from April."